I know a man who is not hated by all, but at the same time, he is not loved by all. People miss him badly only when the air in their cozy homes is rented by the awful smell of garbage.
Yes! I am talking about the garbage man.
Imagine! If he wouldn’t have been there, then we had to take off the garbage every day to the dumping sites.
In short, everyone needs them because they help us to maintain cleanliness. Despite the important role they play, they are abused daily and their presence is still considered unpleasant in our society.
I think they deserve respect and love in the real sense but the reality is the opposite. We need to change our perspective towards them.
Coming back to my locality, there is a garbage man, who is quite punctual at his work and usually does not utter a single word. He collects the refuses from people’s homes every day and charges around Rs 100 a month. This amount is not paid to him directly, instead, it is paid to a man whom he calls “Maalik”. This “Maalik” is the contractor who employs these garbage men. From this mere Rs 100, he gets an even smaller amount for his service.
Yesterday, I was on my way to university. As I was passing through the narrow street, I heard two women gossiping, “Isko dekho! Hai toh yeh koodawala, lekin attitude aisa hai jaise koi VIP ho. Yeh bhi Sunday ki chhutti leta hai” (Look at this man! He is a garbage man but has got an attitude as if he is a VIP. He too takes a leave on Sunday!)
Another lady standing beside her started laughing loudly as if she cracked a joke.
This garbage man always ignores people’s queries.
I heard him speaking only once, when he said a single sentence to a man, “Maalik ne paisa nahi diya hai”.(Maalik has not paid the payment)
Since that day, I always think, why does he remain silent all the time?
Doesn’t he get frustrated by the noisy voices of men and women shouting at him all the time?
I try to observe him every day, but feel helpless because his face looks pale and it is difficult to understand when does he feel joyous, angry, satisfied, or even dissatisfied with his life.
I wonder how can he be so patient. Has the very essence of garbage killed his emotions?
What is there in the trash which gives him patience? Does it provide him some kind of positivity or is it so dangerous that it kills him from inside?
